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How do I save my import file as a CSV in UTF-8 format?

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Written by Sam E.

Saving your file as CSV UTF-8 makes sure accented letters, symbols like ® or ™, and non-English text import correctly instead of turning into garbled characters (for example, café showing up as café).

Acenda's importer only accepts .csv and .xlsx files. .xls and .xlsm (including the XLSM (Experimental) export) aren't supported, and if your file has more than one tab, only the first tab is imported — keep your product data there.

If you're working in Excel, saving as .xlsx instead of CSV sidesteps encoding issues entirely, since Acenda reads Excel files directly. CSV UTF-8 only matters if you're exporting to CSV.

Before you start: You only need one of the methods below — pick whichever app you used to build your file.

Using Microsoft Excel

Works in Excel for Microsoft 365 and Excel 2016 or newer.

  1. Open your completed spreadsheet in Excel.

  2. Go to File in the top menu and select Save As.

  3. Click the dropdown for Save as type.

  4. Choose CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) (*.csv) — not plain CSV (Comma delimited), which saves in a different encoding and is the most common cause of garbled characters on import.

  5. Click Save. Your file is ready to import.

On a Mac:File > Save As, then set File Format to CSV UTF-8.

Using Google Sheets

Google Sheets always exports CSV files in UTF-8, so there's no format to choose.

  1. Open your spreadsheet in Google Sheets.

  2. Go to File > Download, then select Comma-separated values (.csv).

  3. Your file downloads in CSV UTF-8 format, ready to import.

Heads up: Download only exports the sheet (tab) you currently have open, not your whole workbook.

Using WPS Office

  1. Open your spreadsheet in WPS Office Spreadsheets.

  2. Go to Menu > Save As and choose CSV (Comma-delimited) (*.csv).

  3. Before saving, click the Tools dropdown next to the Save button and select Web Options.

  4. On the Encoding tab, set it to Unicode (UTF-8), click OK, then Save.

Menu names can vary a little by WPS version — check WPS Office's own help for your version if these don't match exactly.

Using Apple Numbers

  1. Open your spreadsheet in Numbers.

  2. Go to File > Export To > CSV.

  3. Set Text Encoding to Unicode (UTF-8) and export.

Then import it: go to DATA TRANSFERS > Imports > + New Import, set Import Type to Catalog, upload your file, and click Start Import. For the full walkthrough — including field mapping and update settings — see Using the Import Feature: How to Import Product Data into Acenda.

Troubleshooting

  • Garbled characters like é or ’ after import: The file was saved as plain CSV, not CSV UTF-8. Acenda doesn't reject this — it imports anyway with the corrupted characters. Re-save as CSV UTF-8, or import an .xlsx file instead.

  • Leading zeros dropped from UPCs or SKUs: Excel reformatted the column as a number. Select the column, set its format to Text, and re-enter or re-save the file.

  • Long barcodes turned into scientific notation, like 8.5E+11: Same cause as above — select the column, Format Cells > Number, set decimal places to 0, then save.

  • ".xls" or ".xlsm" file rejected: Acenda only accepts .csv and .xlsx. Re-save your file as .xlsx or CSV UTF-8 and try again.

  • Only one tab's worth of data imported: Only the first tab in a workbook is read. Move your product data to the first tab, or split other tabs into separate import files.

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Still stuck? Contact Acenda Support and send us the file you tried to import.

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